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Called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker, the San Francisco based GRAMMY® award-winning ensemble Chanticleer celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for its “tonal luxuriance and crisply etched clarity,” Chanticleer is known around the world as “an orchestra of voices” for its seamless blend of twelve male voices ranging from soprano to bass and its original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, as well as contemporary composition. Chanticleer’s 2018-19 season was the fourth under the direction of Music Director William Fred Scott.

Since 1981, the group has sold well over a million albums and won two GRAMMY® awards. Chanticleer’s recordings are distributed by Warner Music, Chanticleer Records, Naxos, ArkivMusic, Amazon, and iTunes among others, and are available on its website

Chanticleer is a distinctly American group. In 2014, Chorus America conferred the inaugural Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award on Music Director Emeritus Joseph H. Jennings to acknowledge his contribution to the African-American choral tradition during his 25-year (1983-2009) tenure as a singer and music director with Chanticleer. The hundred plus arrangements of African-American gospel, spirituals and jazz made by Jennings for Chanticleer have been given thousands of performances worldwide—live and on broadcast—and have been recorded by Chanticleer for Warner Classics and Chanticleer Records.

With the help of individual contributions, government, foundation and corporate support, Chanticleer’s education programs engage over 5,000 young people annually.

Chanticleer’s long-standing commitment to commissioning and performing new works was honored in 2008 by the inaugural Dale Warland/Chorus America Commissioning Award and the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming.

Chanticleer

Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer was founded in 1978 by tenor Louis A. Botto, who sang in the Ensemble until 1989 and served as Artistic Director until his death in 1997. Chanticleer became known first for its interpretations of Renaissance music, and was later a pioneer in the revival of the South American baroque, recording several award-winning titles in that repertoire. Chanticleer was named Ensemble of the Year by Musical America in 2008, and inducted in the American Classical Music Hall of Fame the same year. William Fred Scott was named Music Director in 2014. A native of Georgia, Scott is the former Assistant Conductor to Robert Shaw at the Atlanta Symphony, former Artistic Director of the Atlanta Opera, an organist and choir director.

William Fred Scott

CHANTICLEER

William Fred Scott was named Music Director in 2015. He is the fifth music director for Chanticleer, and the graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service has been involved in music for more than 40 years. He was the artistic director and principal conductor of the Atlanta Opera from 1985-2005 and associate conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra from 1981-88.

Scott spent five years as director of choral music at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta before joining Chanticleer and is a well-known organist. His family has a long history with the Thomasville Entertainment Foundation, which brought Chanticleer to the TCA as part of its 80th season. His grandfather was one of the first supporters of the TEF.